Real Wedding: Natali + Brian’s Palm Springs’ Wedding

I have such a sweet Palm Springs wedding to share with you guys today! Natali + Brian have always known they would get married in Palm Springs as it held a special place in their hearts. After an exhaustive search of potential venues they decided on the understated but gorgeous Horizon Hotel.

From Natali, “The aesthetic of the William Cody designed Mid-Century Modern buildings and the desert landscape matched our own personal style and was reflected in everything from invitations and color palette to recurring imagery and attire. It was a constant aim to marry natural materials and earthy tones with sharp whites, blacks and chic, personal touches. We wanted the desert environment and ethereal light to play against the bold, angular architecture and for our wedding to feel as if it had literally sprung from this setting.” P.S. We Love You.

Thanks so much to the lovely Jessica Claire for letting me share her photos with you guys today!

This purse had a special story – it gets passed through her circle of friends and each girl carries it on her wedding day. What a sweet tradition!

Love their first look! :)

Love this adorable guest photo book station – especially the retro Cali scarf they used for the backdrop!

What was the most memorable moment of your wedding day? Surrounded by everyone we love, standing under the huppah exchanging vows by candlelight. For all of our planning and preparations for some odd reason it had never occurred to either us that the ceremony intentionally scheduled to begin just after sundown would largely take place in the dark. Our rabbi was thoughtful and kind enough to keep the havdalah candle burning throughout and the outcome was unexpectedly sublime. The rest of the day wasn’t too shabby either.

We selected the music for our wedding from start to finish, and although it took months of planning we are so happy to have the soundtrack of our day as a record of nearly every song played. There wasn’t an obvious choice for our first dance but when we heard Otis Redding’s That’s How Strong My Love Is just weeks before we tied the knot we knew it was The One. Whenever we hear it played it feels like it was written just for us.

Any advice for those planning now? Trust your instincts. People who love you mean well but they don’t always share your focus or vision, and that’s fine. Just don’t let them steer you off track. We had a strong aesthetic that we worked passionately towards which reflected our shared sense of style. If we had allowed others to sway us from our path it wouldn’t have been anywhere near as endearing or beautiful a day. And it wouldn’t have been us, which is what it’s all about really anyway.

• Great Vendors = Great Wedding. We worked diligently to seek out our Dream Team of vendors. While I undertook the design and styling of the wedding, there is no way we could have pulled it off without the help of our dedicated vendors and fabulous coordinators at Celebrations of Joy! Work only with those you adore and trust wholeheartedly. Figure out what’s worth splurging on and what isn’t. Whatever your budget you can’t have everything but in the end it isn’t really a ‘deal’ to save a few bucks if it means compromising your vision. And before you think something has to be taken off the table due to finances, scour Etsy, consider creating it yourself or enlist a resourceful friend or family member.

• A good wedding website can go a long way. We paid a nominal fee for a unique URL, template and hosting service and then spent a few hours uploading content and photos. The result was a spectacular looking custom site guests could visit for details about our wedding weekend. Feedback was exceptional and definitely worth the time and effort. Talk about bang for your buck!

• Enjoy the Journey! Planning our wedding was truly a labor of love. In the end we accomplished what we set out to do and couldn’t be more thrilled with the outcome. But the road to get there was equally as exhilarating and wonderfully memorable too.

Thanks so much Natali + Brian and best wishes in your married life! Thanks so much also to Jessica Claire for letting me share her gorgeous photos. :)

I think the flowers are so lovely, i love all the photos against the stones and what a cute idea with the handbag. Beautiful photos of the couple together and i am slobbering just a bit at the photo of all those cakes! My fave photo of all is the couple during the ceremony at night under the canopy, perfect.